Nicholas Ballasy
Nicholas Ballasy (born May 30, 1986 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a Video Journalist for CNSNews.com where he covers Capitol Hill.
His career in broadcast journalism began to take shape in college, where he served as the host and producer of a public affairs talk show he created called “On the Issues.” The program educated and informed youth about politics through interviews Ballasy conducted with high profile figures like Former President Bill Clinton , Former Vice President Al Gore, former NY Governor George Pataki , Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace , Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to name a few. Ballasy also covered entertainment and social topics on the program when interviewing guests like Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry , Miss New Jersey 2007 Amy Polumbo , Actress Kate Walsh and Grammy-nominated singer Jason Mraz . "On the Issues" aired on public access television throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania and got thousands of hits on youtube through his "On the Issues" Channel. The show was named, Best Public Affairs Show in 2007 by the National Broadcasting Society in their National Electronic Media Competition where over 85 colleges from around the country compete. It also won a 2008 Silver Telly Award. Over 80 editions of the show were produced. Ballasy's "On the Issues" field interview with former NY Governor George Pataki is ranked the 11th most popular video on Election.tv
Ballasy has covered climate change conferences at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, the 2005 New Jersey Gubernatorial Race, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey 2008 Presidential primaries and both 2008 Democratic Presidential debates in Philadelphia.
In the summer of 2007, Ballasy was one of approximately 100 students from around the country selected to attend The Fund for American Studies "Institute on Political Journalism" at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and served as the only intern at CNN’s White House Unit . The Institute awarded him the “Frank Shakespeare Excellence in Broadcast Journalism Award” named after the former President of CBS. Throughout his college career, he also interned in the news department at WABC-TV, Channel 7 in New York City and with the weekend edition of ABC World News Tonight.
While at CNSNews.com, Ballasy was the first journalist to conduct in-depth interviews on-camera with both Congressman Chris Smith and Frank Wolf when the news broke that their computers were hacked by people in China . Other notable stories he has covered are "More Funding to Fight Climate Change?" where he interviewed experts about issues raised in a Senate subcommittee hearing on climate change funding; "$7.5 million in Taxpayer Dollars for First Tee" where he interviewed Congressmen James Clyburn, professional golfer Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy about "The First Tee" program and the Mickelson foundation; and "O'Connor and Court Silence Councilman Who Said, 'Jesus'" where he was the first journalist to interview Hashmel Turner and his lawyer about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor voting to uphold Turner's right to say "Jesus" at council meetings and their appeal to the Supreme Court.
He has interviewed a wide range of celebrities and politicians about issues in the 2008 Presidential Election including President Bill Clinton, Obama Campaign Advisor David Axelrod , Governor Bill Richardson , Former Governor Mitt Romney, Governor Tim Pawlenty , Reverend Jesse Jackson , Singer/Songwriter Wyclef Jean , Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean and Television and Film Actress Hayden Panettiere among others. His interview with Hollywood Actress Ashley Judd where Judd says "A women voting for McCain/Palin is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders" was featured on the Fox News Channel's O'Reilly Factor .
Ballasy is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Rider University where he double majored in Communications and Political Science.